Open Primaries

Thursday, August 18, 2011

Independent Voters: Moderation Is Not the Solution

INDEPENDENT VOTERS

Less conformity is the answer (LETTER LA Times) Before we can truly liberate our vote from the corporate political parties, we must first liberate our thinking from people like Masket and Noel and base our vote on what we really want instead of what we believe others are going to do.

Where’s Howard Dean? (by Randy Shaw‚ Beyond Chron) Dean often claimed that he represented “the Democratic wing of the Democratic Party,” and was a hero to the progressive netroots. Yet at a time when President Obama is openly ignoring this “Democratic wing” while currying favor with “independents,” Dean is publicly silent over the president’s rightward shift.

President Obama's Tipping Point (By Reid Wilson, National Journal/On the Trail) Obama's high personal-favorability ratings show swing voters are rooting for him to succeed, while his low job-performance rating demonstrates they don't like where he's going so far. If Obama's favorability ratings start sinking to match his approval numbers, it may be a sign that those critical independent voters have washed their hands of his presidency.

Independents gain, while big parties lose voters in Arizona (By David Rookhuyzen/wick communications) Registered Republicans dropped by more than 3,000 voters since April, while Democrats hemorrhaged nearly 8,000 voters in the same period, the report showed. However, the number of independents, those registering without a party or with an unrecognized party, jumped by more than 13,000.